Defense Will Quickly Determine USC's Direction In Make-Or-Break Season For Lincoln Riley | Barrett Sallee

USC coach Lincoln Riley is entering his third season leading the Trojans, and the turnaround that the college football world was promised simply hasn’t happened. They are coming off a disappointing 8-5 season and 5-4 mark in the Pac-12. What’s even more concerning is that they finished 10th in yards per play allowed (6.1) and yards per game allowed (432.8). That came after a season that included a defense that gave up 6.53 yards per play despite the Trojans’ appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

A big reason for their lack of success was the absence of the understanding of basic fundamentals … tackling, in particular. They finished 120th in missed tackles in 2022 and missed 141 more in 2023, but only six came in the Holiday Bowl win over Louisville. Riley thinks that could be a good sign of things to come.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JULY 24: USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley speaks during the 2024 Big Ten Media Days on July 24, 2024 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Enter: D’Anton Lynn. 

The former UCLA defensive coordinator was hired as Riley’s full-time defensive coordinator after Riley fired Alex Grinch last November with two games left in the regular season. Riley is excited about Lynn and addressed his presence on Thursday at Big Ten Media Days.

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"Playing UCLA, obviously, like we do every year, I thought the changes he made there were staggering," he said. "I loved his NFL experience, especially some of the trees that he came out of. Then we shared, I think, a lot of very similar beliefs in how great defense should be played and developed, kind of finished each other's sentences in terms of philosophy and how we felt like this would be built."

All coaches are positive during "talkin’ season," but the last sentence in that quote should alarm USC fans. Not only did Riley’s philosophy lead to putrid defense in Los Angeles, it was a big reason why he kept Grinch on far too long.

Riley better be right, because his reputation is staked on Lynn’s success. Why? Because his Oklahoma teams were built on dynamic offenses, but were never true threats to win the College Football Playoff despite making the four-team event in Riley’s first three years at the helm. Hence, the drop-off before Riley bailed on the good folks in Norman, Oklahoma.

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 27:  the USC Trojans face the Louisville Cardinals during the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl at Petco Park on December 27, 2023, in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

Was the success executing basic defensive fundamentals in the bowl game a sign of things to come? Riley thinks so.

"I think the guys in the bowl game, I think there was just a different mentality around the football team," he said on Thursday. "That’s honestly the best way that I can explain it. Those six weeks, it was almost like you had a new team. In a lot of ways, we did. There was just a great mentality going into that game. We tackled well, and I give a lot of credit to our players and the way we prepared and played that night.

"It's certainly a great blueprint for us going forward on the mentality that you have to play with. I think just the momentum and really just the togetherness. I think the bowl game was the most together that our football team was all of last year, and I think it showed that night."

The Trojans will open the 2024 season in Las Vegas against what should be a dynamic LSU offense and will travel to Michigan in their third game of the season in what will be their first ever Big Ten conference game. At that point, we will know if Riley has truly committed to fixing his defense or is too stubborn for his own good.